I. Introduction
A. This wasn’t supposed to be a series on Isaiah 24 and 25 but it has evolved into one.
1. Isaiah prophetic vision of the end of the story, the great goal to which God is leading humanity
2. Isaiah 25:6 especially fits with Thanksgiving and the big feast which is planned for Thursday.
B. A feast on a mountain: We’re going to camp on this mountain for advent this year. For the four Sundays of December, we’re going to camp out in verses 7-10 and take in the other details of Isaiah’s glorious mountaintop vision.
II. The great feast
A. In the Bible, the final glory which awaits the children of God is often spoken of as a magnificent feast which Rev.19:9 calls “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
B. We see it in the parables of Jesus:
1. The parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1–14
2. The parable of the great banquet in Luke 14:15–24
C. And in His statement in Matthew 8:11 “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
D. He referred to it at the last supper, where He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” – Luke 22:15–16
E. This is a familiar theme to those who are well-acquainted with Scripture. But do you know where it started? Isaiah 25:6 “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”
1. Now there was the system of OT feasts: God’s system of helping His people celebrate several times each year, for a week at a time. But there was no indication that these pointed forward.
III. Isaiah 25:6
A. Who: On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
1. The LORD = Yahweh
2. “Of hosts” means of the armies of angels. The Hebrew word is SABAOTH, like we sing in the hymn A Mighty Fortress: “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He! Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.”
B. What: On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
C. Where: On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
1. “This mountain” = Mount Zion (this is clear from Isaiah 24:23)
2. Mount Zion = Jerusalem
3. Jerusalem/Mount Zion is spoken of as the place where all this will happen. There is no reason to assume that this is literal. In Revelation the New Jerusalem descends from heaven.
4. It is not irrelevant to us, though, that this vision is anchored in the city of the Jews. The vision is that all of humanity is gathered to this place. And I think it’s not just a symbol of the new Jerusalem. There is another point in this geographic detail. That is, that this great feast for all mankind will be hosted by and centered around a Jewish rabbi who taught there and died on a cross there in the first century AD, Jesus of Nazareth.
D. Who is the feast for? “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”
1. All peoples is not the same as all people. It refers not to every person but to every people group, which is exactly what is reflected in a description of the same scene in Rev.7:9: “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
2. This was not for Israel only. It is too big for that (Isaiah 49:6).
E. What’s for dinner? “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”
1. In the OT sacrificial system, the richest food was reserved for the Lord (Lev. 3:3; 4:8, 9). But here the Lord is preparing it and serving it to His people. In that day, it will be nothing but the best of the best for the Lord's people.
2. Emphasis upon emphasis:
a. Vocabulary: not food but rich food, NT wine but fine wine
b. Repetition: a feast of rich food, a feast of fine wine, of rich food, of fine wine (repetition of the words feast, rich food, and fine wine)
c. Adjectives:
(1) of marrow,
(2) a process of making very special wine
d. Exquisite delicacies
F. On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
1. I’m not a wine connoisseur.
2. But I know that some people thousands of dollars pay for a bottle of wine.
3. My family once got to sip of a $10,000 bottle of rum. It was incredible.
4. Can you imagine how good a bottle of wine has to taste for people to be willing to pay that $!
5. But the point here again is that this isn’t just wine, it’s the best of the best wine.
IV. Application
A. In the Bible there are various metaphors used to give us a glimpse of the glory which awaits those who put their trust in Jesus. This passage is one of many which speak of this in terms of food.
1. That’s a metaphor we can sink our teeth into!
2. In worship this morning we read Psalm 36:8 “They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.”
3. God made food to taste good, with the capacity of being amazing.
a. There is a difference between everyday food and exquisite food.
B. The Lord has a lavish feast in store for us, a no-holes-barred, no-expense-spared feast!
1. Beloved, this is where we’re headed!
2. “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” — 1Corinthians 2:9
3. Why is the food so rich? Because Jesus is the food.
a. I am the bread of life. I am the bread of God who came down out of heaven. (John 6:35, 41)
C. Even though this feast is a promise of things to come, it is also something we can experience now.
1. Paul got a glimpse of it (2Cor.12:1-6). This was one of the things which made him so fantastic.
a. And Paul understood that this hope of what is to come is essential to Christian spiritual life. He knew that we also have to get special help from the Lord to be able to grasp what is in store for us. He prays in Ephesians 1:18 that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened, that we may know...what are the riches of his glorious inheritance.
2. Once we grasp the promise of God, it changes the way we experience life every day.
a. Even in the face of struggle and pain we can experience the richness of His grace.
b. Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies... my cup overflows.”
3. In the new heavens and earth, there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more weakness, no more sin. But what do we feast on now?
a. His promises
b. His love
c. His presence
4. When we get this, our worst problems look light and momentary in comparison (2Cor.4:17).
D. The invitation
1. The Bible uses the language of feasting a lot to talk about the lavish and costly grace which God has supplied for the children of His love.
2. Another aspect of this language is the invitation to the feast. He doesn’t just prepare the feast for us and then it sits there. He sends out messengers to invite people to come to this feast.
a. In Proverbs 9:1–6 Wisdom (who seems to be a foreshadowing of Christ) has built her house and prepared a feast of meat, and mixed wine and has also set a table. Wisdom has sent out messengers to call from the highest places in the town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave the path you’ve been walking on, and walk in my way, and you will live.”
b. In Matthew 22:4 the master of the banquet sent servants, saying, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”
c. Revelation 19:9 “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb!”
3. And so on behalf of the great Feast-maker, I extend His invitation to you in the words of Isaiah 55:1–3 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.”
E. But the picture here is not of a feast we enjoy while the host is absent, but a feast we enjoy with the Lord of hosts Himself. Rev.3:17-18 tells us that Jesus is knocking on the door wanting to come into our lives. If we receive Him and open our hearts to Him, then He will come in and eat with us. Amazing! God and man at table together!
V. Communion
1. This is a costly feast.
a. He drank the cup of wrath so we could drink this cup of celebration and triumph and forgiveness.
b. On the cross Jesus was hungry. He should have been feasting, but He was fasting – all for us, all so that we might feast.